Duxbury 8, Lincoln-Sudbury 7 (4 OT): One for the ages

If the Lincoln-Sudbury boys lacrosse team doesn’t want to face Duxbury for some time, it would certainly be understandable. On Thursday evening, the host Warriors lost a thrilling, 8-7 quadruple overtime game to Duxbury that included six lead changes and no more than a two-goal lead by either team.

If the Lincoln-Sudbury boys lacrosse team doesn’t want to face Duxbury for some time, it would certainly be understandable.

On Thursday evening, the host Warriors lost a thrilling, 8-7 quadruple overtime game to Duxbury that included six lead changes and no more than a two-goal lead by either team.

The decisive tally came in the game’s 69th minute, when Duxbury’s Tyler Powers scored the golden goal with 17 seconds remaining to end an epic battle between two of the state's powerhouses.

For the Green Dragons, it marked the third time in slightly more than a calendar year that they’ve beaten L-S. Last season, Duxbury knocked L-S out of the MIAA East Division 1 semifinals just six weeks after the Green Dragons beat the Warriors in the regular season.

"They’re deep and they have a lot of kids that can play," L-S coach Brian Vona said when asked about what makes Duxbury so challenging. "That’s it. They’re deep and they’re loaded."

Heading into the teams’ only regular season matchup this season, it appeared the Warriors were finally in position to overtake their non-league rivals.

Not only was L-S a perfect 11-0 and atop various boys lacrosse state rankings, but 15 returning seniors from last season were eager to redeem themselves following last year’s season-ending loss. It was Duxbury (12-4), however, that found a way to grind out a hard-fought victory and hand the Warriors (11-1) their first loss.

"We didn’t play well enough to win," a visibly deflated Vona said. "Towards the end of the game, I feel like we fell apart offensively. I thought our kids were a little bit gassed. We played well enough to compete, but not well enough to win."

In regulation at least, L-S continually met, and often exceeded, Duxbury’s grit and intensity.

With 2:28 left in the first quarter, a goal by Chris Giorgio gave L-S a 1-0 lead. Duxbury responded with two goals – the first by Powers at the end of the first quarter and the second from Trevor O’Brien to open the second – but the deficit only seemed to ignite L-S.

The Warriors went on to score three more times before halftime – a single tally by John Merwin and two goals from Greg Roder – while Duxbury managed only one from Brendan Burke.

L-S led 4-3 as the third quarter began – a margin that lasted 12 minutes – as each side scored two goals in the frame. The Warriors’ Brendan McCarthy and Harlan Smart were each credited with a goal, while Duxbury’s Burke completed his hat trick with two goals.

The 6-5 L-S advantage was flipped by Duxbury when the two-time defending state champs netted two consecutive goals midway through the fourth quarter. Powers added his second goal and Bobby O’Brien added one with 3:11 remaining to take a 7-6 lead. But Roder netted his third goal just over 30 seconds later to even things up for the Warriors.

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From there, the game turned into a defensive battle with both goaltenders – L-S’ Dario Morando and Duxbury’s Nick Marocco – making save-after-save.

"Dario played great today," Vona said. "He was awesome. You know what, that’s the way he needs to play the rest of the year and he will.

"The other kid – Moracco – he was the player of the game. He played awesome tonight. We took some tough shots, but he made us think most of the game."

The loss was especially bitter for Morando.

"It was my best performance ever in lacrosse," he said. "It just stinks. I really felt like we were going to (get) the 'W.' But it is what it is and we’re going to move forward. We know we can beat these guys, but it just didn’t happen tonight."

Perhaps the two teams will meet again in the postseason, but for now the Warriors are left to pick up the pieces.

"It’s just sticking together and getting back to practice and what we do best," Morando said. "And battling and getting prepared for the next team, which is Concord on Monday."